Animal And Machine

The  body  of  an  animal  may  well  be  compared  with(1)  some  machine  like  a locomotive engine. Indeed, the animal body is a machine. It is a machine composed of(2) many parts, each part doing some particular kind of work for  which  a  particular  kind  of  structure  fits  it(3);  and  all  the  parts are dependent on each other and work together for the accomplishment¹ of the total business of the machine. The locomotive must be provided with fuel, such as coal or wood or other combustible² substance, the consumption of  which  furnishes  the  force  or  energy  of  the  machine.  The  animal  body must  be  provided  with  fuel,  which  is  called  food,  which  furnished similarly  the  energy  of  the  animal.  Oxygen  must  be  provided  for  the combustion³ of the fuel in the locomotive and of the food(4) in the body. The locomotive is composed of special parts: the fire box for the reception and  combustion  of  fuel;  the  steam  pipes  for  the  carriage  of  steam;  the wheels  for  locomotion⁴;  the  smokestack  for  throwing  off  waste.  The  ani-mal  body  is  similarly  composed  of  parts:  the  alimentary  canal  for  the reception and assimilation of food; the excretory organs for the throwing off of waste matter; the arteries⁵ and veins⁶ for the carriage oxygen  and food-holding  blood;  the  legs  or  wings  for  locomotion.

1 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

2 combustible   

a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物

参考例句：

• Don't smoke near combustible materials. 别在易燃的材料附近吸烟。
• We mustn't take combustible goods aboard. 我们不可带易燃品上车。

3 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

4 locomotion   

n.运动，移动

参考例句：

• By land,air or sea,birds are masters of locomotion.无论是通过陆地，飞越空中还是穿过海洋，鸟应算是运动能手了。
• Food sources also elicit oriented locomotion and recognition behavior patterns in most insects.食物源也引诱大多数昆虫定向迁移和识别行为。

5 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》